“The gap between Christmas-tree and store sales may be a sign that the shift in spending away from brick-and-mortar retailers and toward online shopping, and experiences over things, has intensified this year. Put simply, people would rather spend money at Amazon, or on meals and vacations, than on stuff at the store. That may explain why Christmas-tree sellers aren’t getting hurt by the changed environment.

For many people getting a tree, hauling it home and trimming it counts more as buying an experience more than it counts as buying a thing.”

This meeting was no different than any other. No different from the hundreds of meetings in the days, the months before. Where I’m on to the next meeting while attending the one in front of me. Meetings with a replicated loop. Mind whirring…processing. Me pushing. Me prodding. Agitating. Me wanting and needingmore. Extraction. Creating discomfort. Manufacturing urgency. I’m not looking for you to love me. That’s what your dog is for. This morning, my level of consciousness had been ratcheted up by a few lines from Daniel Bor the night before. And, I roll into the first meeting of the day. I’m listening. I’m watching.

We’re opening Hump Day with a short one minute clip about Pandas. (Now who doesn’t just love Panda cubs.) And then on to my inspiring posts of the week…

From Baltimore, MD, George Amoss Jr. @ The Post Modern Quaker with his post: The Zen of Quakerism. “If, when I’m feeling a little playful, someone were to ask me to summarize Quakerism in a sentence or two, I might say this: You have a heart. Use it.”

From Blacksburg, VA, Erica Ann Sipes @ Beyond the Notes is a pianist and cellist, who is asked by a graduate trumpet student (a Marine) to serve as his pianist for his recital. In From Battlefield to Stage: “The recital began and I was literally bursting with pride by the end. Was it perfect? No, of course not…The trumpet player knew where he was and what he was supposed to be doing and he met his mission in a way that I’m sure would make his fellow Marines very proud. Fifth lesson: Semper fidelis. Semper fidelis. To ourselves; to each other; to our passions; to our calling.”

We’re opening Hump day with a clip about two good friends…an Elephant (Tara) and a Dog (Bella). We usually lead with a music video…not today. This was shared with me by a follower (Thanks SR) and it has stuck with me all week. And then on to the top posts of the week from my favorite bloggers…

Susan Kelley @ Great Moments with her post: “Keep Calm and Carry On.” It doesn’t take any more chaos than a bad day to show our propensity to focus on the negative and miss the joy in each day. (And yes, I resemble this remark.) Think of what we tell people about a bad day. We recount in detail the incompetence, laziness, selfishness and general cluelessness that diminished our brilliance. But seldom do we recall the smile and hug from a loved one, the extra mile effort of a co-worker, encouragement from a friend, and the contributions of strangers that make our productivity possible. And, the fact that we’re here to describe our day in lurid detail. We forget about that, too…”

From the HBR Blog Network: Happiness Will Not Be Downloaded. I draw the line on a solve being fixing things yourself otherwise a great post. A few excerpts from the post below along with the charts for the 10 Most Loved Jobs and the 10 Most Hated…

“…The proliferation of cooking shows, blogs, celebrity chefs…taps into something more primal: it’s one of the last jobs that still does what most of us don’t — make things…In this sterile, white-collar world, where meat comes from ShopRite and homes are built by “guest workers,” cooking is the last physical job many of us can relate to.”

We are all “selling” in our daily activities – whether it is selling a product or service, an idea or our point of view. So, I found this post to be thought provoking.

Yet, I found myself bristling at the author’s use of the terms “dominance”, “gaining the willing obedience of the customer”, “gaining dominance over a submissive customer” and “exerting their will over the customer.” The movie classic Glengarry Glen Ross immediately came to mind. However, I think his point of view has merit as does his self-test which is very good. I would encourage you to read the full post at the HBR Blog Network: Are You a Closer? Take the Test. I’ve excerpted the self-test and a few quotes below.

(P.S. Last minute addition. The subject of my post Pure Sales. All Human. scored a 7 on the test below. And he was doing high-fives around the office. His Sensei didn’t have the heart to tell him his own score. Youngsters. Will they never learn. :))

January, 2000. It’s an unseasonably steamy day in Miami. My sales manager comes into my office and asks for a few minutes. “Keep an open mind,” he says. “I think there’s something here…I think.” And he pauses. I note his discomfort. Hmmm. Highly unusual. (This coming from someone that even today, more than 10 years later, I consider to be one of the brightest, most confident and most effective sales managers that has worked for me.)

He then stumbles into his request: “Would you spend 10 minutes with him and if you don’t agree, we’ll show him the door.” With that introduction, the bar was set limbo style – ankle biting level.

“…The managerial grid model was developed by Blake and Mouton in 1964 and they concluded their studies in five different leadership styles (Autocratic or authoritarian style, Participative or democratic style, Laissez-faire or free rein style, Narcissistic leadership, Toxic leadership). The styles are based on the leaders’ concern for people and their concern for goal achievement.”